Johnny Cade
by Mrs.JohnnyCade220
Summary: Written from the point of view of a girl named Julie, who finds herself falling in love with our favorite Greaser.
1. Chapter 1

The minute I saw him, I was glad Sandra made me go to the drive-in. He was off to the side, leaning up against a black T-Bird and smoking a cigarette. His black hair was slicked back, but his too-long bangs hung into his face. Under one of his big, black eyes was a scar of some sort. He seemed to be the reserved type from the way he was slouched over, cautiously hiding behind his denim jacket.

Someone was standing with him. He looked slightly younger and less disgruntled, with redder hair and pale, wide eyes. He jumped around excitedly, telling a story or something with his hands. The darker one just nodded, appearing to be not too interested in what the younger one was saying.

I could feel my cheeks turn red as I stared from a few rows away. Would he notice me? He wasn't looking my way as he lit another cigarette and tossed the other to the ground. After a few moments, the other boy noticed. He showed no conern. As he kept telling his story, he flashed a quick smile in my direction. I panicked and ducked behind Sandra's car. She wasn't there. Probably off drinking or watching the most heated Soc vs. Greaser fight.

Once the movie started, things began to quiet down. People got back in their cars while some wandered from car to car bumming cigs and sharing snacks. The two boys disappeared out of sight.

After a moment, I caught sight of Sandra. She was talking to some Soc across the lot. "Sandra!" I called out, starting to run. In my haste, I failed to see a person appearing timidly from behind one of the cars. Without much time to stop, I rammed right into him, causing his popcorn to fly all around. "Mercy, I'm sorry!" I managed to get out, but as I looked up the words seemed to drift away.

It was the boy from before. His eyes were wide, the rest of his face taking cover under his collar. His huge eyes were wider than ever, looking down at me with what seemed like fear.

"It's alright." His eyes broke my gaze as he brushed off his jacket.

"Can I help? Can I buy you a new popcorn?" I added, biting my lip. He turned to look at me. For the first time, I saw a small smile fall across his lips.

"I said it's alright." He walked away. I just stood there for what seemed like an eternity. It took me a few moments before I realized I wasn't breathing. I drew in a deep breath, letting it out with a sigh. Who was this boy, anyway?

I couldn't sleep that night. After waking up around seven due to sunlight flooding through the un-shaded window across my room, I decided to take a walk. When I opened the door, I was shocked. "Gosh, it's freezing!" I said to no one in particular. Without hesitating, I threw on my only sweater, a thin white one with a ruffled collar, and trudged out the door.

Sandra wasn't at her house. Or at the park. Or the drive-in. By the time I was at Toasty's, the local diner, I was getting worried. It was already noon. Karen, a bitter-looking but hospitable lady, was working behind the counter. "What can I get you today?" She asked without looking up. She was writing something down on her pad.

"Just a Coke, please," I said. I probably shouldn't have been having any soda because of all the popcorn and candy the night before, but I craved the sweet and sharp taste.

Before I could suck the rest down, three giddy girls hurried through, yelling as they went past. "Hurry, Nancy!" one called to another. "I heard there's a big fight going on outside the park! It's Socs versus Greasers!"

I nearly choked. Greasers? What if Sandra was there? I ran as fast I could, even though the wind was nipping at me like a young puppy. Sure enough, there was a small crowd off to one side of the park. I could see Sandra's strawberry blond ponytail bobbing along next to the girls'. "Julie!" she called to me, frantically waving me over.

When I got over there, I saw what they were gawking at. A group of maybe five Greasers had gathered, hands stuffed in their pockets, eyeing a larger group of Socs. All participants of the showdown screamed confidence.

It all happened so fast that I could barely tell what was happening. Soc and Greaser both threw punches, dirt flew, and yells erupted. It was messy. "Get out!" I heard from what I thought was a Soc. The Greasers were making a run for it. They had been beat. Just as quickly as the fight had started, the crowd dispersed. It took me a while to realize that I was the only one still standing.

What happened next was like a dream. First I saw a mop of black hair sticking up from behind the fountain, then the dark tanned-skin. It was the boy from before. I ran over as fast as I could, bending over to get a closer look. "Are you alright?" I asked. He groaned and looked up, his dark eyes pleading.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine."

"Can you get up?"

He winced in pain, using the fountain to steady himself as he stood shakily. "Sure, I can stand."

I noticed a streak of blood from the corner of his mouth and spots on his jacket. He must have been beaten pretty hard. With another wince, he reached up to touch his neck under the collar of his jacket. When he pulled his hand back, it was smeared with blood. "Damn it, he got me. I could have sworn the blade just missed me."

I gagged. Just looking at the blood made me sick. "We should get you back." I turned away. Before I could say any more, someone had pushed me to the side. When I looked, I saw the other boy from before. He had his hand on the first boy's shoulder. The rest of the Greasers caught up and helped.

"You okay, Johnny?" one asked. "You look pretty bad." He smiled and nodded back.

So his name was Johnny. My heart skipped a beat.


	2. Chapter 2

After the rumble in the park, things only got more exciting. One of the oldest Greasers, a handsome man going by the name of Darry, treated the gang to Dairy Queen. He let me tag along. "Anything for you, miss?" the waitress asked.

"No, thanks." I'd already had a soda today.

Things were quiet for a minute until the redder-haired young boy piped up. "So, who are you?" he asked, taking a huge bite of his burger. I blinked, unable to speak for a moment.

"Juliette Rodriquez, but please, call me Julie," I said, messing with the hem of my skirt. He nodded and kept eating.

"Call me Ponyboy." I could barely understand him with all of the food in his mouth.

It was silent again for a few moments as the boys hungrily ate their food. I bit my lip, looking around, before deciding to speak up. I aimed my question to all of the guys. "Why did you leave the fight? You had a fair chance of winning."

They all looked at me like I was insane. A blonder, older one spoke up. "We didn't run, we sabotaged. Greasers never run." I guess they saw the confused look on my face, because Darry began to speak.

"When we left, we went onto the Socs' turf and waited for them. When they arrived, no doubt drunk, we kicked their butts." I couldn't help but laugh. These Greasers were smart - smarter than I had accounted them for.

Then I felt my head spin. Johnny reached across the table and grabbed a spoonful of Ponyboy's sundae. His hand brushed across mine. I heard myself yelp in surprise. He just looked up at me with those huge, gorgeous, dark eyes and smiled. I swear I could have died.

* * *

><p>The next few days were slow. I didn't hear any more from the Socs about their little run-in with the Greasers, and the Greasers didn't say anything about beating the Socs. Everything was quiet. Well, until the day my life was ruined.<p>

I'd always known Sandra was sneaky, but never this sneaky. We became friends when I moved to Tulsa last year from Austin. Ever since, we'd been inseparable, but lately we've been growing apart. I believe it has to do with the fact that she's been hanging more and more with the wrong Greaser crowd. She even had her first cigarette the other day, which we both swore we'd _never _do.

Today, when I was walking from Toasty's to the library, the place where I can spend all of my time and never get bored, my heart nearly stopped beating. Sandra was standing across the street talking to some Greasers and flipping her wavy locks. What made my breath slip from my lungs was who was with her. He had an arm draped around her shoulders with a small smile on his lips. I felt my books slip from my hands. It was Johnny. Before I knew it, I was scrambling to pick up the books with tears streaming down my face. When I looked up, I saw Sandra looking right at me. She just gave a little shrug, her sky blue eyes twinkling, and flipped her hair innocently. That little witch. I took off across the street, walking right by her and her group. Johnny caught me.

"Hey! Julie, right?" he asked, grabbing my arm. How dare he? How dare he give me that smile? How dare he look at me with those eyes? I let the tears flow freely.

"I'm sorry, I don't know you." And I kept walking.


	3. Chapter 3

I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow that night. My dreams seemed to dance in my head like cruel demons. I looked across a field. It was brightly colored with sunlight reflecting off of the patches of yellow, red, and purple flowers. The hot Oklahoma wind swirled my hair around my face. Johnny looked at me with compassion. He wasn't with Sandra. In fact, she was nowhere in sight. It was just he and I and miles of roaming fields. Just when things seemed normal, it took a turn for the worst. As I was watching Johnny, the flowers around us seemed to wither away and left the ground bare and brown. The leaves shook from the trees so that they looked hopeless and stripped. Their branches limply rattled in the wind, which began to pick up, swishing violently around us and causing the sky to turn black. The temperature suddenly rose.

"Johnny!" I called. My hands felt sweaty. He turned and bounded away like a demonic jackrabbit, leaving me to the wind's mercy. I tried to run, but I wasn't going anywhere. I couldn't move. I seemed to be glued to the ground. "Help!" I called, but no one was there.

Then I saw her. She was standing between two trees, her hair twisting sinisterly around her perfect head. "Get out!" she called, raising her arm. "He's mine!" I tried to run again, falling to my knees and writhing in pain. What was happening? Could she control me?

"I can't!" I yelled back. She screeched in response, outstretching her fingers. "No!" I whimpered. It felt like the world was closing in on me. Before the pain suffocated me, I turned. There was a pair of dark eyes looking sympathetically back at me. Just then, everything went black.

I woke up in a cold sweat, gasping for air. The sun hadn't risen yet since it was still fairly early in the morning. I quickly threw on my sweater and stalked out the door. I wasn't going to Sandra's or Toasty's. I was going to a place where I could find answers. I didn't know where that was, but I was determined to find it.

It was the slowest weekend ever. I didn't go home for that night, but it was okay. I found a place to sleep in the park, even though I nearly froze my hands and feet off. Sandra didn't go by the house once. She didn't even call. It was a good thing, too, because if she did I'd probably rip her to shreds. Or at least think about it.

The end of fall was rolling by. Nobody wandered the streets like they usually did. Red leaves blew in the bitter wind, rattling off the trees. I spent more and more time in the library buried in a book, hidden in the corner behind one of the shelves. My favorite spot was the Travel section. Since no one in our town really had enough money to travel anywhere, it was rarely visited.

Around noon on a chilly afternoon, I was sitting in the Travel section, like normal, lost in the latest sci-fi paperback, when someone walked by. Oh well, I thought. Probably wasn't anyone I knew, just some old guy looking through the magazines. I was wrong.

He cleared his throat. "Julie?"

I looked up. My breathing sharpened. I didn't even bother to answer, just huffed and looked back down.

"Julie, I know you're upset, and I have no idea why."

"How did you find me?" I asked, clenching my fists.

He leaned on the shelf. "I did my research."

"Sandra told you that you could find me here, right?" I was mad now.

He sighed, looking around helplessly. "Why are you so shaken up? What's wrong with Sandy? Aren't you guys friends?" His eyes pleaded for an escape. I didn't give him one.

"Her name is Sandra, and she _was _my friend. Things have changed." I noisily flipped the page.

He coughed, obviously getting frustrated. "Look Julie, when we met I thought you were cool. Better than this. But..."

"But what?" I said a bit louder than I should. Heads began to turn.

"Never mind. Not like it mattered anyway." He turned and left without another word, tucked back behind his worn-out denim jacket.

I couldn't help it anymore and I didn't care who saw. I dropped my book in grief, letting the tears fall, and pulled my knees to my chest. I didn't care that the librarian was giving me the stink eye. I let my sobs speak for themselves, and I didn't care who was listening.


	4. 11 Jan 2015

Hello all! I hope you're having a wonderful new year so far. As you can see, I condensed some of the chapters and did some minor editing with grammar and word choice. I'm doing my very best to make this story better! I can assure you that it will be updated by the end of the year, or maybe by the summer with enough pestering. God bless!

- Concetta


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